Many sports activities derive power from the rotational movement of the hip. The muscles of the hip and thigh are used in walking, running, and almost every athletic activity. Sports activities like throwing a ball, discus throw, javelin, golf, tennis or base ball require swinging movements and flexibility of muscles to achieve the desired results. Hip rotation plays an important role in these types of sports. The execution of a correct hip rotation is of appreciable significance in particular for precision of aim and distance of the shot for these types of sports. A golf player requires proper dynamic positioning of the hands, the arms, the legs, the torso, the head, and the feet to achieve the most desirable and consistent golf swing.
In golf, the relative movement of the player's hands with respect to the rotation of the player's hips is particularly critical. The player must rotate the hip at the appropriate time, and to the appropriate extent, if he desires to excel in the game. It takes much precise positioning and practice to achieve the most desirable and consistent golf swing. The player's body has to be properly positioned starting from the address position and continuing through the full golf swing. There are numerous golf swing training methods and devices presently available, as is well known to those skilled in the art of golf training. However, these devices have been largely ineffective and cumbersome. For example, such devices fail to properly coordinate different parts of the golfer's body that must work together to achieve an effective swing.
Existing training methods and devices related to movement control for the waist area of a player have considerable drawbacks. For example, a golf swing training harness may be secured to the forward knee, forward wrist, rear elbow, and waist of a golfer to encourage the golfer to keep his or her limbs in correct position as the golfer proceeds through a golf swing. However, such a golf swing training harness is too complicated and does not provide the desired orientation in the hip of the golfer.
Another existing system discloses a hip rotation training device with a base plate, a torsion resisting element such as a torsion spring, a torsion spring attachment rod, an inner vertical support tube, a tube support socket, an outer vertical support tube and a hip retaining assembly. However, a disadvantage of this system is that the user can only guide the swing while standing on the base plate placed on the ground. This only controls the position of the golf club, rather than the body of the user.
Recent advancements in the art provide a hip training device, comprising a base frame, mounted on a horizontal floor; a positioning system, mounted on the base frame; a disc, rotatably supported by the positioning system; and a transmission system. The user during an exercise moves the transmission system with her or his hips, causing a rotational movement of the disc, the disc in turn constraining the transmission system to a circular movement, taking along the user's hips with a training effect for the user's hips. However, this device is disadvantageously cumbersome and can be uncomfortable in use.
Based on the foregoing there is a need for a hip rotating training system that would be simple in construction, relatively small in size and easy to use. Such a needed device would coordinate different parts of the user's body to work together to achieve an effective swing. The device would provide the desired orientation in the hip of the golfer and would be comfortable to use. The present invention overcomes prior art shortcomings by accomplishing these critical objectives.